Impact and/or vibration absorbent material and protective glove making use thereof

ABSTRACT

An impact and/or vibration absorbent material and articles, particularly a protective glove, making use of said material. An impact and/or vibration absorbent material of the present invention has at least two material layers. The individual layers of the impact and/or vibration absorbent material may be of the same material, or of different materials. Each material layer preferably contains a number of holes. The holes in one layer are located and arranged to be offset from the holes in an adjacent layer. The combination of inherent material properties and the inclusion and arrangement of holes renders such a material highly impact and/or vibration absorbent. When used in an impacting article, deflection of portions of one material layer into the holes in an adjacent material layer at impact further provides an enhanced transfer of impact force to an impacted object.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material and to a protective impact glove that incorporatessaid material. A testing apparatus that is particularly well-suited fordetermining the impact force absorption characteristics of such amaterial is also disclosed.

Exposure of the human body to repeated impact and/or vibration is aknown problem. Such exposure can occur in various settings: bothoccupational and recreational.

It is known, for example, that extended exposure of the human body tovibration can lead to vascular, neurological and musculoskeletaldisorders. The source of such vibration is commonly some type ofmechanical device, such as a hand-held vibrating tool. In the case ofexposure to hand-held vibrating tools, resultant disorders typicallymanifest in the body's upper limbs—such as in the form of carpal tunnelsyndrome, for example.

Similar problems may also result from repeatedly impacting an objectwith the hand. There are many situations, particularly occupationalsituations, where a person's hand is effectively used as a tool toimpact another object. For example, in certain automotive manufacturingoperations, the hand can frequently be used to install fasteners or toset the position of one assembly component to another. In such asituation, it is desirable to transmit as much of the hand-generatedimpact force as possible to the impacted object, while simultaneouslyprotecting the hand from impact related injuries.

Also problematic is what may be referred to as whole-body vibration,such as may be transmitted through the seat of an industrial vehicle. Amultiplicity of vehicles may transmit such vibration: from large outdoorearth-moving equipment to commonly used forklifts and tow motors, forexample. Rather than causing a problem with a particular limb or limbs,however, whole body vibration commonly results in spinal systemdisorders.

The human body, or particular portions thereof, may also be exposed toundesirable impact and/or vibration in a recreational setting. Forexample, it is known that long term participation in certain racquetsports may lead to similar problems. Interestingly, it has also beenfound that such problems may plague cyclists due to the persistentpressure put on the nerves of the hand by the handlebars of a bicycle(or motorcycle), as well as the transmission of shock and vibrationtherethrough. Certainly, a person's shoes can also transmit shock and/orvibration to the feet during walking, running, hiking, climbing, orother activities.

Various types of protective equipment have been produced in an effort tocombat the aforementioned problems. Of particular interest are glovesthat have been designed to reduce the amount of impact and/or vibrationforce transmitted to the hand when using devices such as hand-held power(vibrating) tools, or when using the hand as an impact tool. Otherarticles have also been developed in this pursuit, including, forexample, shoe soles and shoe inserts. These articles may make use ofdifferent material compositions, multiple air bladders, and/or variousother designs and techniques to achieve a reduction in impact and/orvibration transmission.

However, Applicants have discovered that, at least with respect to handprotection, each of the known products still transmits a significantamount of impact and/or vibration to the wearer's hand. Consequently,any improvement in impact and/or vibration absorbent hand protection ishighly desirable. An impact and/or vibration absorbent material of thepresent invention and a protective impact glove made therefrom canprovide such improvements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material that can be used in a variety of protective equipmentand apparel (articles)—particularly gloves. Although an impact and/orvibration absorbent material of the present invention is particularlywell-suited for use in protective gloves, it should also be realizedthat said material may also find use in many other articles such as, forexample, shoe soles, shoe insoles, seat cushions, head rests, and avariety of other body protective devices and apparel. It should befurther understood that the term “protective article,” as used herein,refers not only to articles specifically designed to reduce or eliminateimpact and/or vibration induced injuries, but also to articles thatsimply make exposure to such forces more comfortable.

An impact and/or vibration absorbent material of the present inventionis preferably comprised of a layered composition of one or morematerials. For example, one such two layer material includes a first(inner) layer of a flexible polymeric material in abutment with a second(outer) layer of a closed-cell foam material. Other materialcombinations may be used in other embodiments, however, it is preferredthat the material forming the inner layer have a hardness greater thanthat of the material forming the outer layer.

No matter the particular materials used to form the impact and/orvibration absorbent material, however, a plurality of holes are providedin at least certain ones of and, preferably, all the layers thereof. Forexample, in the polymer/closed-cell foam composition mentioned above,each layer of material is provided with a plurality of holes. The size,shape and number of holes may vary. However, the holes are preferablylocated in each layer so that when the layers are properly assembled,the holes in one layer will be offset from the holes in the other layer.When more than two layers of material are used, each layer is providedwith holes that are offset with respect to the layer(s) adjacentthereto. Preferably, the holes are thru-holes that extend completelythrough each respective material.

It has been discovered that this use and arrangement of holes improvesthe ability of a material of the present invention to absorb impactand/or vibration. It has also been determined that through the properselection of materials and the use of the offset thru-holes, the amountof impact force transferred to an object by a protective glove-coveredhand can be significantly increased without increasing the amount ofimpact force imparted to the hand.

The impact and/or vibration absorption abilities of a material of thepresent invention are believed to be improved in part by the offset holepattern—which allows for increased material deflection. Morespecifically, when a material of the present invention is subjected toan impact and/or vibration force, the presence of the holes and theiroffset arrangement provides an additional dimension (direction) ofdeflection for the material surrounding the area of impact. For example,when a two layer material of the present invention is subjected to animpact and/or vibration force, the force can be absorbed/dissipated notonly by a general deformation of one or both materials and a deflectionof portions of one both materials into holes located respectivelytherein, but also by deflection of the inner layer of material intoholes in the adjacent outer layer. The offset hole pattern increases theopen surface area into which the material(s) can be deflected—therebyallowing for increased absorption properties.

A material of the present invention has also been shown to impart anadditional benefit when the material is employed with an article, suchas a protective impact glove, that is used by a wearer to deliver animpact force to another object. More specifically, as will be describedin more detail below, the ability of an inner layer of material todeflect into holes in an outer layer of material permits more of theimpact force generated by the hand to be delivered to the object;without increasing (or actually decreasing) the amount of impact forceexperienced by the hand.

In contrast, known impact absorbent materials lack the ability todissipate and absorb forces in this manner. Even if such materials areprovided with collapsible cavities, for example, they lack the abilityof a material of the present invention to also deflect into holesresiding in an adjacent material layer(s) when subjected to an impactand/or vibration force. Rather, known materials are required todissipate impact and/or vibration forces purely through theexpansion/deformation of the solid material, or through transverse-onlydeflection of the material into cavities, if such are provided.Therefore, these known materials are also incapable of increasing theimpact force transfer rate when used in an item such as a protectiveimpact glove. Consequently, as can be understood from the foregoingdescription, an impact and/or vibration absorbent material of thepresent invention, and various articles making use thereof, can providefor impact and/or vibration protection/transfer that is superior to thatof known materials and articles made therewith.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In addition to the features mentioned above, other aspects of thepresent invention will be readily apparent from the followingdescriptions of the drawings and exemplary embodiments, wherein likereference numerals across the several views refer to identical orequivalent features, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of each of two separate material layersthat will be placed in contact to form an exemplary impact and/orvibration absorbent material of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view, in cross-section, showing thematerial layers of FIG. 1 after being assembled;

FIG. 3 depicts an alternate embodiment of a material composition of thepresent invention, wherein an exposed major surface of each materiallayer shown in FIG. 2 is covered with a stretchable fabric;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an exemplary impact and/or vibrationabsorbent glove insert of the present invention;

FIG. 5 depicts, in partial cut-away, the glove insert of FIG. 4 beingused in one embodiment of a protective impact glove of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 shows the protective impact glove of FIG. 5 donned on a wearer'shand and being used in conjunction therewith to strike another object;

FIG. 7 a is an enlarged view of a section of the protective impact gloveof FIGS. 5-6, prior to being subjected to the impact force generated bystriking the object shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 7 b depicts the section of the protective impact glove of FIG. 7 aas it impacts the object shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of a testing apparatus that isespecially well-suited to determining the force absorptioncharacteristics of an impact and/or vibration absorbent material of thepresent invention;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the testing apparatus of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged front elevational view of a base portion of thetesting apparatus; and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged side elevational view of a base portion of thetesting apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT(S)

One embodiment of an impact and/or vibration absorbent material 5 of thepresent invention can be observed by reference to FIGS. 1-2. As can beseen in FIG. 1, two separate material layers 10, 15 are included in thisparticular material. The first (inner) layer 10 may be constructed froma number of flexible materials, such as polymeric materials andpolymeric gel materials. Suitable materials may comprise, withoutlimitation, silicone, urethane, and various other elastomers andthermoplastic elastomers. In this particular embodiment, the inner layer10 of the impact and/or vibration absorbent material 5 is manufacturedfrom a polymeric gel. Such a gel may be comprised of a block copolymermaterial, such as one of the family of block copolymer materialsavailable from Kraton Polymers under the tradename of Kraton®. Ofcourse, a number of other suitable materials are also available, andsuch would be known to those skilled in the art. Such materials areconsidered well-suited to use in the present invention due to, amongother things, their flexibility, softness, deformability, and impactand/or vibration absorbent properties. Whatever particular material isselected for the inner layer, however, it is preferred that suchmaterial exhibit a minimal propensity to stick to itself.

The second (outer) layer 15 may also be constructed from a number ofdifferent materials. For example, it has been found that closed-cellfoam materials such as, for example, Neoprene® perform very well whenused to construct the outer layer 15. A number of other rubber, plasticand/or polymeric materials may also be used to construct the outer layer15. In any event, it is preferred that the material of the outer layer15 have a hardness that is greater than the hardness of the material ofthe inner layer 10 (for reasons described in more detail below). Whilemany harder materials (e.g., PVC) may be used to form the outer layer15, it has been found that the use of a somewhat more flexibleclosed-cell foam material, such as Neoprene®, allows the outer layer 15to contribute to the overall impact and/or vibration absorbingcharacteristics of the material to a greater extent than would bepossible with a considerably harder material.

As shown, each of the first layer 10 and the second layer 15 is providedwith a plurality of holes 20, 25. Preferably, as can be best observed byreference to FIG. 2, the holes 20, 25 pass fully through each materiallayer 10, 15.

The holes 20, 25 may be of virtually any size and shape. The size andshape of the holes 20, 25 may be altered as necessary to produce thedesired amount of impact and/or vibration resistance. As with hole sizeand shape, the number of holes 20, 25 provided may also vary accordingto the particular application.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1-2, the holes 20, 25 are preferably locatedsuch that the holes in one layer 10 will be offset from the holes in theother layer 15 after the two layers have been properly assembled to oneanother. In this particular example, the offset of the holes 20, 25 isshown to be such that a row of holes in one layer lies substantiallyequidistant between corresponding rows of holes in the other layer.However, while preferable, such an arrangement is not consideredessential to the functioning of the present invention. For example, arow of holes in one layer may be biased toward a row of holes in anadjacent layer, rather than residing substantially in the middle of thespace therebetween. The holes in each layer may even be located suchthat there is a slight overlap of at least some of the holes after thelayers are assembled.

Although the holes 20, 25 are shown in FIG. 1 to be arranged insubstantially equidistant rows, this too is optional. The holes 20, 25in FIG. 1 are shown in this manner purely for simplicity ofillustration, and because the exemplary material layers 10, 15 are shownto be of random size and shape. When an impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material composition of the present invention is to be used ina specific application, such as in a protective impact glove, both thesize and shape of the material layers, and the size, shape, number andarrangement of the holes may be altered as desired.

An alternate embodiment of an impact and/or vibration absorbent material30 of the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 3. This embodiment ofthe impact and/or vibration absorbent material 30 is similar to thematerial of FIG. 2, however, in this particular embodiment a thin layerof a stretchable fabric 45 covers one or both of the exposed majorsurfaces 35 a, 40 a of the inner and outer layers 35, 40. Thestretchable fabric 45 can facilitate installation of an impact and/orvibration absorbent material of the present invention into a protectivearticle such as, for example, a glove. The stretchable fabric 45 isselected such that it does not impede the ability of either materiallayer 35, 40 to deform and/or otherwise absorb impact and/or vibration.Acceptable stretchable fabrics may include, without limitation, variousstretchable nylon and Neoprene® fabrics, as well as spandex-typematerials such as Lycra®. Numerous other stretchable fabrics may also beused in this manner. When such a material is used in the presentinvention, the holes in the impact and/or vibration absorbent materiallayers may pass through the fabric (as shown in FIG. 3) or,alternatively, the fabric may span the holes. In a modification of thisembodiment (not shown), such a fabric may also cover the abutting majorsurfaces 35 b, 45 b of each layer 35, 40.

One embodiment of a protective impact glove 50 that incorporates animpact and/or vibration absorbent material of the present invention isshown in FIG. 5. This particular protective glove 50 is designed toexpose a portion of each of the four fingers of the hand H, and offersno protection for the thumb. However, this glove 50 is provided for thepurpose of illustration only, and in no way limits the scope of thepresent invention to such a design. As one skilled in the art wouldreadily understand, there are a multitude of glove designs that wouldfall within the scope of the present invention. As such, a protectiveimpact glove of the present invention may be fingered or fingerless, andmay have a body portion (shell) constructed from a wide variety ofmaterials including, for example, leather, vinyl, fabric, variouscomposites, and/or virtually any other material from which gloves arecurrently manufactured or may be manufactured in the future.

An impact and/or vibration absorbent insert 60 according to the presentinvention is shown to be installed within the glove 50 in FIG. 5, andcan be seen in its entirety by reference to FIG. 4. The insert 60 may beconstructed from an impact and/or vibration absorbent material 70 thatis the same or similar to the material shown in FIGS. 1-3, for example.Alternatively, the insert 60 may be constructed from another impactand/or vibration absorbent material in accordance with the presentinvention that is not specifically shown in the drawing figures.

As can be observed in FIG. 4, this particular impact and/or vibrationabsorbent insert 60 is shaped for installation to a body portion (shell)55 of the protective glove 50 depicted in FIG. 5 and, therefore, alsocovers only a portion of the hand H. Of course, as can be understood,such an insert could also be of various other size and shape to conformto the particular glove body with which it will be used.

In an insert 60 like that shown in FIGS. 4-5, the holes 65 in the impactand/or vibration absorbent material 70 may be provided in the offsetpattern described previously, and distributed substantially uniformlythroughout the material. Alternatively, it is possible to distribute theholes 65 in a non-uniform manner. For example, certain areas of theinsert 60 may contain holes of different size and/or a greater or lesserconcentration of holes in order to alter the amount of impact and/orvibration protection provided to corresponding areas of the hand H. Itmay also be desirable, and is possible, to design and construct certainareas of the insert 60 with no holes.

Although the insert 60 of FIGS. 4-5 is shown to be of one piececonstruction, it should also be realized that such an insert may becomprised of multiple components. For example, an insert (not shown) mayinclude a palm protecting portion, as well as separate finger protectingportions. This may be especially useful when applied to a fingeredglove. Further, although the glove 50 of FIG. 5 is only shown to includean insert 60 on its palm side, an insert could also be provided on theopposite side to protect the back portion of the hand H.

Each insert(s), or insert portion, may be permanently affixed to theglove 50, such as by sewing, bonding, or any other method that would beknown to one skilled in the art. Additionally, certain of the materialsuseable in forming an impact and/or vibration absorbent material of thepresent invention may exhibit an adhesion to the glove body 55 that issufficient to render further means of retainment unnecessary. It ispossible to locate an insert interior to the glove body 55, in apocket(s) within the glove body, in between layers of the glove body, orexterior to the glove body.

In another embodiment, the insert(s) may be removably affixed to theglove 50, such as by snaps, hook and loop fasteners (e.g., Velcro®), orother similar fastening mechanisms. In yet another embodiment, theinsert(s) may be installed into a pocket(s) resident on the interior ofthe glove body 55. The embodiment of the impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material depicted in FIG. 3 may be especially well-suited touse in this latter-described embodiment of a protective impact glove, asthe stretchable fabric outer covering 45 thereof can facilitateinstallation of the insert(s) into the pocket(s) by preventing theinsert material from sticking to the pocket material.

A better understanding of the aforementioned impact force transferability of an impact and/or vibration absorbent material of the presentinvention can be gained through a review of FIGS. 6 and 7 a-7 b and thefollowing description. FIG. 6 again illustrates the protective impactglove 50 of FIG. 5 on a wearer's hand H. In FIG. 6, however, theglove-covered hand H is shown to be in motion and at a point just priorto striking another object 95. The object 95 may be virtually any objectsuch as, for example, an automotive assembly component.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, the glove-covered hand H is moving from rightto left toward the object 95, and will deliver an impact force F to theobject. As this process may be repeated a great number of times each dayin a manufacturing setting, it is desirable not only to minimizeexposure of the hand to impact forces, but also to transfer as much ofthe impact force as possible from the gloved hand H to the object 95.More specifically, while known protective gloves may provide a user'shand with at least some impact protection during such use, thecushioning materials present therein typically redirect the impactenergy in a manner that results in far less impact force being deliveredto an object than is actually generated by the hand. Consequently, if agiven amount of force must be exerted against an object by the handduring performance of a particular process, the use of such known glovesresults in the wearer having to increase the impact energy of the blow(generally by increasing hand speed). Obviously, this iscounterproductive to minimizing the amount of impact force to which thehand is exposed.

Unlike these known materials, a glove 50 incorporating an impact and/orvibration absorbent material of the present invention is able tominimize the amount of impact and/or vibration force to which the handis exposed, while simultaneously transferring a maximum amount of energyfrom the hand H to the object 95 being impacted thereby. FIG. 7 a is anenlarged view of a small section of the impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material insert 60 of the glove 50 prior to impacting theobject 95. As can be seen, the impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial 70 forming the insert 60 is again comprised of an inner layer75 and an outer layer 85, with the layers having offset holes 85, 90. Inthis particular embodiment of the glove 50, the insert 60 resides in apocket formed between inner and intermediary layers 55 a, 55 b of theglove body 55.

FIG. 7 b illustrates the state of the impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial 70 of the insert 60 at, or just after, impact of theglove-covered hand H with the object 95. As can be seen, the impact F isprimarily dissipated through (absorbed by) the inner layer 75 of thematerial 70 via a general deformation thereof and/or a deflection ofportions thereof into holes 85 located therein. When an impact and/orvibration absorbent material is also used to form the outer layer 80,the outer layer may also contribute to impact and/or vibrationabsorption in a similar manner. It is this absorption/dissipationmechanism that generally redirects impact and/or vibration energy aroundor otherwise away from the hand.

The enhanced impact force transfer ability of the impact and/orvibration absorbent material 70 can also be observed in FIG. 7 b. Asshown in this example, when the glove covered hand H strikes the object95, the inner layer 55 a of the glove body 55 comes in contacttherewith. The object 95 substantially halts the forward motion of thehand H. However, because of the flexible/deformable characteristics ofthe inner material layer 75, the energy associated with said forwardmotion and the impact force F generated when the hand H strikes theobject 95 causes a further forward displacement of at least a portion ofthe inner material layer. The holes 90 in the outer layer 80 facilitatethis forward displacement by receiving forward deflecting portions ofthe inner material layer 75. This forward deflection of the innermaterial layer 75 into the holes 85 in the outer material layer 80 atimpact, acts to transfer a greater amount of impact force to the object95 than can known impact and/or vibration absorbent materials. Thisforward force transfer is accomplished while simultaneously minimizingthe amount of impact force actually transferred to the hand H. Upondissipation of the impact force F, the inner material layer 75 withdrawsfrom the holes 90 in the outer layer 85.

With respect to the exemplary representation of FIG. 7 b, it should benoted that area over which the impact force deforms the material hasbeen greatly reduced therein in order to better convey the operationmechanism of the material. More particularly, the impact force F hasbeen shown to occur at substantially a single point when it would, inreality, be distributed over a much greater area. Consequently, thedeformation of the material layer(s) 75, 85 would also occur over a muchgreater area—as would the forward deflection of the inner material layer75 into the holes 90 in the outer layer 85. Also, as can be understood,both the general deformation of the material layer(s) 75, 85 and theamount of forward deflection of the inner material layer 75 into theholes 90 in the outer layer 85 will be related to the amount of impactforce generated. It should also be realized that, although not shown inFIG. 7 b for reasons of clarity, an impact force F of sufficientmagnitude may cause a change in shape of the outer material layer 85, aswell.

Any of the aforementioned materials may be manufactured by variousmethods. For example, an impact and/or vibration absorbent material ofthe present invention may be manufactured by a molding process, whereinthe holes are created by the mold. The mold may also be designed toimpart a particular shape or contour to the resulting impact and/orvibration absorbent material, such as might be desirable for use in theglove described above. Alternatively, a sheet of an impact and/orvibration absorbent material layer may be produced by any known means,whereafter the holes can be created by means of a punching or piercingprocess, for example. In this case, the impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material layer may already have a molded shape and/or contour,or a shape may be punched or stamped from the sheet of material. In yetanother embodiment, holes may be drilled or otherwise bored intosuitable material layers. While this method would likely be inefficient,it may allow for co-extrusion of impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterials of the present invention.

As can be understood from the foregoing, an impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material of the present invention can be useful in themanufacture of a variety of articles. An impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material of the present invention can be modified as describedto produce the desired results associated with a particular application.An impact and/or vibration absorbent material of the present inventioncan be constructed from a variety of materials, which materials can beused in substantially any combination. An impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material of the present invention may be assembled fromvirtually any number of layers—depending on the application with whichthe material will be used. Consequently, the present invention is not tobe considered limited to the various exemplary impact and/or vibrationabsorbent materials described above, or to a protective impact glove.

A testing apparatus 100 that is especially well-suited to determiningthe impact and/or vibration absorbing characteristics of a material ofthe present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 8-12. In most simplisticterms, it can be seen that the testing apparatus 100 comprises an impactimparting and measuring stand that is designed to deliver an impactforce to a material of interest and to determine the amount of theimpact force that is absorbed by the material.

The testing apparatus 100 includes a base 105, which may be weighted orotherwise of sufficient mass to maintain the apparatus in a stableposition. A pair of guide rods 110 extend upwardly from the base 105.The guide rods 110 are preferably connected at or near their distal ends110 b to ensure a substantially parallel spacing therebetween.

A sample holding plate 115 resides at some distance above the base 105,with the guide rods 110 passing therethrough. The sample holding plate115 is supported in this elevated position by a plurality of compressionsprings 120 of known spring rate that extend between the sample holdingplate 115 and the base 105. In this particular embodiment of the testingapparatus 100, a compression spring 120 surrounds each of the guide rods110 in the area between the base 105 and the sample holding plate115—although such a construction is not essential to operation of thetesting apparatus.

A weight 125 of predetermined and known mass is located to besubstantially aligned and parallel to the top surface 115 a of thesample holding plate 115. The guide rods 110 also pass through theweight 125, and the weight is adapted to slide along the guide rods. Ifdesired, bushings B may be placed within guide rod receiving holes 130in the weight 125 to facilitate its movement along the length of theguide rods 110.

Located on the base 105 and partially below the sample holding plate 115is a force absorption indicator mechanism 135. The force absorptionindicator mechanism 135 includes an indicator arm 140 mounted to thebase 105 by a pivot connection 145. To the indicating end 140 b of theindicator arm 140 may be mounted a pointer 150. The opposite end of theindicator arm 140 resides below the sample holding plate 115. Theindicator arm 140 may be biased such that in a resting position, thenon-indicating end thereof abuts the bottom surface 115 b of the sampleholding plate 115.

A scale 155 is mounted to the base and located such that the pointer 150passes in front of the scale when the indicator arm 140 is pivoted. Amagnifying glass 160 or similar view enlarging device may also beaffixed to the base and located such that movement of the pointer 150 infront of the scale 155 may be better observed therethrough.

In operation, the weight 125 is raised to some predetermined position(height) above the sample holding plate 115. A retaining device may beprovided to maintain the weight 125 in the raised position until itsrelease is desired. Once the weight 125 has been raised, a sample ofmaterial (not shown) is placed on the sample holding plate 115. With thesample in proper position, the weight 125 is released from its raisedposition, whereafter it is allowed to fall freely downward along theguide rods 110 and to directly impact the sample of material residing onthe sample holding plate 115.

Because the mass of the weight 125, the distance from which the weightfalls, and the total spring rate is known, the force absorptionproperties of a material of interest can be determined. Morespecifically, when the weight 125 impacts the sample of material, anyforce passing therethrough also impacts the sample holding plate 115.This impact will cause a compression of the springs 120 and somedownward movement of the sample holding plate 115. The downward movementof the sample holding plate 115 causes the indicator arm 140 to pivotabout the pivot connection 145, thereby moving the pointer 150 upwardaway from the base 105. The height to which the pointer 150 rises can bemeasured by observing the scale 155—preferably through the magnifyingglass 160.

As both the total spring rate and the impact force imparted by theweight 225 are known, a given deflection of the sample holding plate 115can be correlated to a total amount of pass-through impact force. Forexample, in the particular embodiment of the apparatus shown in FIGS.8-11, the total spring rate is 688 lb/in. Consequently, each 1/32 inchdeflection of the sample holding plate is equivalent to a pass-throughimpact force of approximately 21.5 lb. (i.e., 0.03125 in.×688 lb/in.)Because the deflection of the sample holding plate 115 will result in anequivalent rise of the pointer 150, the total amount of force passedthrough the sample of material can be measured by observing the rise ofthe pointer 150 in front of the scale 155 and multiplying the risedistance by the total spring rate. For example, using the exemplaryspring rate of 688 lb/in., a 0.25 in. observable rise of the pointer 150corresponds to a pass-through impact force of approximately 172 lb.

The amount of impact force absorbed by a particular material sample canthen be determined by subtracting the observed/calculated pass-throughimpact force from the known impact force imparted by the weight 125. Thedifference between these values will be the amount of impact forceabsorbed by the sample of material.

The embodiments of the present invention described in detail above havebeen provided for the purpose of illustration only. However, nothing inthe foregoing description is meant to limit the scope of the inventionto the particular embodiments described and/or shown. For example, itwould be understood by one skilled in the art that various othermaterials may be acceptably substituted for the exemplary materialsdescribed herein. It would be understood by one skilled in the art thatan impact and/or vibration absorbent material of the present inventioncan be used in articles other than a glove, insole and seat cushion.Consequently, while exemplary embodiments of the present invention havebeen shown and described, the scope of the invention is not to beconsidered limited by such disclosure, and modifications are possiblewithout departing from the spirit of the invention as evidenced by thefollowing claims:

1. An impact and/or vibration absorbent material comprising: a firstimpact and/or vibration absorbent material layer constructed from aflexible polymeric material, said first material layer including aplurality of holes therein; a second impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial layer constructed from a polymeric material having a hardnessgreater than the hardness of said first material layer, said secondmaterial layer including a plurality of holes therein; wherein saidholes in said first material layer are located to be offset from saidholes in said second material layer when said layers are properlyassembled to one another; and wherein portions of said first materiallayer deflect into said holes in said second material layer when saidimpact and/or vibration absorbent material is subjected to an impactforce.
 2. The impact and/or vibration absorbent material of claim 1,wherein said holes in said first material layer are located to besubstantially equidistant from neighboring holes in said second materiallayer when said layers are properly assembled to one another.
 3. Theimpact and/or vibration absorbent material of claim 1, wherein saidholes in each material layer pass fully therethrough.
 4. The impactand/or vibration absorbent material of claim 1, wherein said holes aredistributed substantially uniformly throughout each material layer. 5.The impact and/or vibration absorbent material of claim 1, wherein saidholes are distributed with varying density throughout said materiallayers in order to provide said impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial with areas of dissimilar impact and/or vibration absorbingcharacteristics.
 6. The impact and/or vibration absorbent material ofclaim 1, wherein an exposed major surface of at least one impact and/orvibration absorbent material layer is covered by a stretchable fabric.7. The impact and/or vibration absorbent material of claim 1, whereinsaid holes also pass through said fabric.
 8. The impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material of claim 1, wherein said inner material layer iscomprised of an elastomer or a thermoplastic elastomer.
 9. The impactand/or vibration absorbent material of claim 8, wherein said innermaterial layer is comprised of a polymeric gel.
 10. The impact and/orvibration absorbent material of claim 1, wherein said outer materiallayer is selected from the group consisting of an elastomer,thermoplastic elastomer, rigid or semi-rigid thermoplastic, and naturalrubber.
 11. The impact and/or vibration absorbent material of claim 10,wherein said outer material layer is comprised of a closed-cell foam.12. The impact and/or vibration absorbent material of claim 10, whereinan exposed major surface of at least one of said inner and outermaterial layers is covered by a stretchable fabric.
 13. The impactand/or vibration absorbent material of claim 12, wherein said holes alsopass through said fabric.
 14. An impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial comprising: an inner impact and/or vibration absorbent materiallayer constructed from a polymeric gel material, said inner materiallayer including a plurality of holes therethrough; and an outer impactand/or vibration absorbent material layer constructed from a closed-cellfoam material, said outer material layer including a plurality of holestherethrough and having a hardness greater than the hardness of saidinner material layer; wherein said holes in said inner layer are locatedto be offset from said holes in said outer layer when said layers areproperly assembled to one another; wherein said holes contribute to theimpact and/or vibration absorption abilities of said material byallowing portions of said material to deflect thereinto when subjectedto an impact and/or vibration force; and wherein portions of said innermaterial layer deflect into said holes in said second material layerwhen said impact and/or vibration absorbent material is subjected to animpact force, thereby enhancing the amount of said impact forcetransferred to an impacted object.
 15. The impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material of claim 14, wherein said holes in said innermaterial layer are located to be substantially equidistant fromneighboring holes in said outer material layer when said layers areproperly assembled to one another.
 16. The impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material of claim 14, wherein said holes are distributedsubstantially uniformly throughout each material layer.
 17. The impactand/or vibration absorbent material of claim 14, wherein said holes aredistributed with varying density throughout said material layers inorder to provide said impact and/or vibration absorbent material withareas of dissimilar impact and/or vibration absorbing characteristics.18. An impact and/or vibration protective glove comprising: a glovebody; and at least one impact and/or vibration absorbent materialcomponent for inclusion in or on said glove body, said impact and/orvibration absorbent material component comprising: an inner layer of aflexible polymeric material, said inner layer including a plurality ofholes therethrough, and an outer layer of a closed-cell foam material,said outer layer including a plurality of holes therethrough, whereinsaid holes in said inner layer are located to be offset from said holesin said outer layer when said layers are properly assembled to oneanother, wherein said at least one impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial component is located in or on said glove body so as to absorbimpact and/or vibration forces to which a wearer's hand will be exposedwhen wearing said impact and/or vibration protective glove; and whereinportions of said inner layer of material deflect into said holes in saidouter layer of material of said at least one impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material component when said impact and/or vibrationprotective glove strikes an object, thereby enhancing the amount ofimpact force transferred to said object.
 19. The impact and/or vibrationprotective glove of claim 18, wherein said glove body is constructedfrom a material selected from the group consisting of leather, vinyl,fabric, composite, and elastomer.
 20. The impact and/or vibrationprotective glove of claim 18, wherein said at least one impact and/orvibration absorbent material component is located along an interiorportion of said glove body.
 21. The impact and/or vibration protectiveglove of claim 18, wherein said at least one impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material component is located between an inner and outer layerof said glove body.
 22. The impact and/or vibration protective glove ofclaim 18, wherein said at least one impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial component is located in at least one receiving pocket in or onsaid glove body.
 23. The impact and/or vibration protective glove ofclaim 18, wherein said at least one impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial component is located on an exterior portion of said glove body.24. The impact and/or vibration protective glove of claim 18, whereinsaid at least one impact and/or vibration absorbent material componentis substantially covered with a stretchable fabric material tofacilitate installation thereof to said glove body.
 25. The impactand/or vibration protective glove of claim 18, wherein said at least oneimpact and/or vibration absorbent material component is removablyaffixed to said glove body.
 26. The impact and/or vibration protectiveglove of claim 18, wherein at least one impact and/or vibrationabsorbent material component is permanently affixed to said glove body.27. The impact and/or vibration protective glove of claim 18, whereinsaid at least one impact and/or vibration absorbent material componentis provided with a non-uniform pattern of holes so as to selectivelyimpart dissimilar impact and/or vibration absorbing characteristics toparticular areas thereof.
 28. The impact and/or vibration protectiveglove of claim 18, wherein multiple impact and/or vibration absorbentmaterial components are provided for installation to a single glove. 29.The impact and/or vibration protective glove of claim 18, wherein saidflexible polymeric material is a polymeric gel.